Brighton Jones LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Brighton Jones LLC trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 29.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,559 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,862 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $2,933,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $721,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $10,059,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the second quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 58,077 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,856,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $472,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $421.39 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $398.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $434.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.43.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($12.83) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.